A Foreign Sound World

Last but not least, the Instrument Museum is intended to draw attention to the sound characteristics of individual instruments that may be surprising for today’s hearing expectations, or to raise awareness of an instrument that, although superficially familiar, belongs to a foreign sound world. This may be due to different construction techniques, different uses or different ways of playing the instruments.

Among the instruments in question is the harp, which at that time and in that region was always played with ‚bray pins‘. These are small, hook-shaped pins that were placed at the bottom of the strings so that when plucked they produced a buzzing sound – a tone that is quite different from our modern idea of what a harp should sound like. It does, however, provide excellent tonal blend with string instruments, contributing to a homogeneous ensemble sound. At the same time the bray-pins increased the resonance of the instrument, allowing the relatively small body to produce a penetrating tone, which is why the harp was sometimes counted among the ‘loud’ instruments.

Another example is the generally monoxyle construction of bowed and some plucked instruments, in which the body was hollowed out of a single piece of hardwood, rather than – as was the later case – assembled from individual, often bent parts. This construction method has a direct impact on the sound of the instruments. They tend to be louder as a result, but they also sound sharper and have a more direct projection than later instruments with construction features that are geared towards a round and rich tone quality.

For other instruments, the main difference from today’s listening expectations is the playing technique. The lute is one such example. It wasn’t until the late 14th century that it began to be fretted, and until the late 15th century it continued to be played almost exclusively with a plectrum. This playing technique influences the timbre and volume of the instrument, which is well suited to ensemble playing, for example with bowed instruments where it can easily hold its own. It also imposes certain restrictions on the playing possibilities, which are different from those of the later finger playing. In short, the idiomatics of a lute played with a plectrum differs significantly from one plucked with fingers. The use of a plectrum does not prevent the performance of solo polyphony, but it does restrict it and steers it in certain directions.

The singing voice, probably the most important ‘instrument’ of the late Middle Ages and therefore also used by most of the musicians featured in the audio samples, is not represented in the museum’s collection, as the possibilities and timbres depend very much on the individual singers. In the audio samples, the voices are used both soloistically and chorally, whether in combination with instruments or a cappella.